


The Call

by Esin_of_Sardis



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-02
Updated: 2013-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 08:03:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1891449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esin_of_Sardis/pseuds/Esin_of_Sardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what happens when the plot bunnies attack in hordes: A songfic for Regina Spektor’s song “The Call”. Belle’s POV of her relationship with Rumpelstiltskin with some season 3 speculation. Thanks to 14hpgirl19 for working with me to try to get this story beta read.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Call

I

_It started out as a feeling,_

It all starts with the feeling of the Dark One’s hand on the small of her back. She’s terrified, but he guides her gently, not possessively. Her skin tingles through the silk of her golden gown under his fingers. It isn’t more than a feeling at the time. After all, he does throw her in a dungeon and shout at her for crying. But it’s just a cup and the pillow does more than simply muffle her tears, so the feeling continues to lurk in the back of her head.

_Which then grew into a hope._

Even after all his grand claims and threats, he spares the thief. He’s too proud to do anything but deny it—she expects nothing else. Robin rides off with his True Love. And for the first time, Belle entertains the hope that she may have ridden off with hers.

With the gift—no, the _apology_ —of the library, the bud of hope only grows in her breast. Maybe, just maybe.

_Which then turned into a quiet thought,_

There’s no time to scream as she falls. All her insides scrunch up and catch in her throat in anticipation of the painful splat she’s sure to make on the wood floor. That will be a mess to clean up for certain.

_She doesn’t hit the floor._ She doesn’t hit the floor because his arms are beneath her, strong and wiry and setting her on fire. He caught her. He cares for her. Her mind replays the thought over and over. _He cares._

_Which then turned into a quiet word._

They grow closer as time passes. It’s natural: two people alone together in a remote castle. He’s remarkably good at redirecting conversation to avoid talking about himself. Even when she asks him directly, he only barely answers. But the look of pain in his eyes when he speaks of his son is enough that she allows him to drop the subject.

She can’t resist grinning when he brings her the rose, bowing in such a gentlemanly manner. He may be the Dark One and scourge of the realms, but he’s charming underneath it all when he chooses to be. When she speaks of love, she describes what she’s found in him: layers of mysteries and darkness with a good man hidden inside. Love. She says it quietly, not looking at him directly, lest he see it in her eyes.

_And then that word grew louder and louder,_

_‘Til it was a battle cry;_

_I’ll come back when you call me_

_No need to say good-bye._

True Love’s Kiss. The words ring in her mind as she hurries back to the Dark Castle. There’s something she doesn’t trust about the lady all in black, but she can deal with that later. Now all she can feel is her love for Rumpelstiltskin coursing through her. She hurries to the great hall, then slows, trying not to let her excitement show. She flirts playfully, enjoying his obvious befuddlement at her advances. He likes it though. Of that she’s certain. His lips are soft and wonderful on hers, better than she ever dreamed they could be. And it works. His curse begins to break. It’s True Love.

Love. It becomes her mantra, her cry as he rages at her and her comfort as she weeps alone in her cell. Love. She will fight for him. She will fight for their love. Even if he isn’t yet ready to accept it, she will never stop fighting.

When he sends her away, his eyes hidden under layers of ice-cold iron walls of pain, she gives him another chance. He doesn’t take it. So she leaves him standing there without even saying good-bye. There’s no need to. If he ever changes his mind and comes calling for her across the realms, she’ll come.

II

_Just because everything’s changing_

_Doesn’t mean it’s never been this way before._

Belle wakes in a shock of woods and magic. And then he’s there. Rumpelstiltskin. His arms are around her and he’s whispering her name into her hair. Things change then. She’s in a new world with new rules. She’s awoken somewhere she no longer understands. But she’s with Rumpelstiltskin and that’s what matters.

It’s new and a bit alarming, being with him properly. They’re no longer master and servant, but long-lost lovers. It’s a role neither is familiar with playing. He spent years mourning her—years she can’t even remember. It’s difficult. There’s fighting and confusion and love and sweetness all wrapped up at once. Some days Belle feels she might explode from everything she’s feeling. Other days she wishes _he_ would explode.

They aren’t the first pair of True Loves to find each other again and she knows they certainly won’t be the last.

_All you can do is try to know who your friends are_

Rumpelstiltskin doesn’t fill all her days. She spends time meeting other people. (Yes, her fight with Rumpel may have prompted that, but all the same.) He doesn’t really have friends, just allies. Her heart breaks for his loneliness and then again when he speaks of the loss of his son.

He’s given her a library and he’s going off to find his son. She has a life and friends and love. Maybe this is their happy ending. Finally.

_As you head off to the war._

The drink burns her throat even as it soothes it. Memories come flooding back. She is Belle, not Lacey. Yet how painful it is to wake up to die, then live, then say good-bye. She kisses him again before letting him on the ship. It’s a noble, brave, _good_ thing to do. She’s proud of him for this. He might not trust the people going on this journey, but she does. Well, some of them at least. She hopes he’ll have enough sense to accept them as friends. They’re good people. He needs some goodness and if she can’t be there for him, Snow, Emma, and Charming will have to do.

_Pick a star on the dark horizon,_

_And follow the light._

Belle has many memories of Storybrooke that she’ll cherish forever, but there’s one in particular that stands out in her mind as he leaves. It was soon after the curse broke, before they fought much. He took her out to see the stars on a clear night. She was surprised to see the same ones as at home. He explained that the realms aren’t separated by space, but are layered one on top of another. The constellations are a constant. Even though Rumpel is leaving, they will see the same stars. Each night, she promises herself, she will go out and look up to the stars. She will remember him and hope he’s doing the same worlds and worlds away.

_You’ll come back when it’s over,_

_No need to say good-bye._

She watches from the docks as the ship sails away and through the portal. It isn’t good-bye forever, she tells herself. Rumpel might not agree, but she has to believe. When it’s all over, when they’ve rescued Henry, he’ll come back to her.

III

_Now we’re back to the beginning._

_It’s just a feeling and no one knows yet._

Belle tosses and turns at night. She’s overcome by a feeling of dread. Something bad is happening. Something dark. She trusts Rumpel, but all the same she prays that he won’t fall back into darkness without her there. She wants so hard to believe that he won’t go back to his beginnings as the Dark One where human life didn’t matter and he practically breathed magic. No matter how much she prays, she can’t shake the feeling that he needs her. That he’s in danger—not from Henry’s captors, but from himself.

_Just because they can’t feel it too_

_Doesn’t mean that you have to forget._

No one understands. They pretend they aren’t wary of her, but she knows what they whisper about her. _The Dark One’s lover… darker than the man himself…_ Not even Ruby can comprehend why she loves him. She sympathizes with Belle’s worry, but it doesn’t help because she doesn’t really get it. Belle feels alone in the town, her task accomplished, everyone she knows gone. (Because Snow and Charming and Emma are at least willing to accept her love. Hook and Regina certainly understand—they used it to their advantage.) It seems like everyone is just waiting for her to forget the Dark One and move on, especially her father.

This is True Love. It doesn’t happen every day. It can’t just be forgotten.

_Let your memories grow stronger and stronger_

_‘Til they’re before your eyes._

Their bed feels empty without him. True, they haven’t shared a bed in weeks, not since she first awoke. It’s different now though. He’s much farther away than the other side of town. Belle lies lie awake, running her hands over her pillow and her thoughts over her memories of Rumpelstiltskin. She closes her eyes against the moonlight so the memories fill her eyes. She will stay strong. One day he will be back for her. One day it won’t be memories, but him in the darkness with her. Until then, the memories have to be enough.

_You’ll come back when they call you_

_No need to say good-bye._

Only one thought sustains her: that Rumpelstiltskin will eventually come back to her. That their good-bye is not forever. That someday, she’ll call out for him and he’ll be there.

_You’ll come back when they call you,_

_No need to say good-bye._

Rumpelstiltskin is losing control. Neverland is doing more than drawing out his darkness. It’s slowly driving him mad. He struggles to retain his sanity through the desperation of his mission and the ecstasy of being in a land that practically oozes magic from every speck of dirt. Still, part of him won’t let him give up and in: Belle. Every time he gets close, every time he almost succumbs, he hears her voice and Bae’s calling his name. And every time, he comes back.


End file.
